hello, a very warm welcome to the programme. it is good to have you with us. kevin mccarthy has been elected speaker of the us house of representatives after heated exchanges which almost saw fellow republicans come to blows. it took 15 rounds of voting for mr mccarthy to win the powerful role, even though his party has a majority in the chamber. no government business can be carried out unless a speaker is in place, as our washington correspondent gary o donoghue explains. it took them four days and 15 separate ballots before they finally got there. the honourable kevin mccarthy of the state of california, having received a majority of the votes cast, is duly elected speaker of the house of representatives. cheering not since the american civil war more than 160 years ago has it taken this long to elect a speaker. that was easy, huh? after multiple concessions and days of arm twisting, and at times tempers almost boiling over, kevin mccarthy finally persuaded enough on the r
towards the end of the week. mild for the most part, it may turn colder in the north by the very end of the week. this is bbc news, the headlines. the new republican speaker of the us house of representatives, finally elected after 15 rounds of voting, says former president trump helped him get there. kevin mccarthy s repeated attempts to secure the job almost saw fellow republicans come to blows. rishi sunakfound a meeting with health leaders to tackle the pressures in the nhs highly valuable, downing street says. the prime minister, health secretary and treasury ministers met health experts to discuss crucial challenges. iran is facing international condemnation for hanging two more people said to have been involved in nationwide protests. the uk called their executions abhorrent. as ukraine celebrates the orthodox christmas, russian backed forces there say they ve downed a drone lauched in breach of a temporary ceasefire. it appears to be another sign that the temporary tr
the newly elected speaker of the us house of representatives, kevin mccarthy, has said former president trump helped him finally secure his position, after 15 rounds of voting and sometimes acrimonious exchanges with fellow republicans. he said i don t think anybody should doubt mr trump s influence. president biden congratulated mr mccarthy for his win and said he looked forward to co operating with this party. our washington correspondent gary o donoghue reports. it took them four days and 15 separate ballots before they finally got there. the honourable kevin mccarthy of the state of california, having received a majority of the votes cast, is duly elected speaker of the house of representatives. cheering. not since the american civil war more than 160 years ago has it taken this long to elect a speaker. that was easy, huh? after multiple concessions and days of arm twisting, and at times tempers almost boiling over, kevin mccarthy finally persuaded enough on the right o
suggest that long waits for cancer treatment are growing. when i first found the lump, it was only pea sized, but by the time i got to see the consultant, it was the size of a tangerine. # we re walking in the air.# and raymond briggs, who wrote and illustrated the children s classic, the snowman, has died at the age of 88. coming up on the bbc news channel, serena williams prepares for her second round match in the canadian open. could it be one of the last competitive matches of her career? good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. many families are falling behind on their gas and electricity bills, with the total owed by consumers to energy suppliers tripling since last september. a survey of 2,000 people for u switch suggests almost a quarter of households owe an average of more than £200 to their provider. it comes as ministers are due to hold talks with the energy companies tomorrow about the impact of sharply rising bills. yesterday, experts predicted the ave